


All the World's a Stage

by DaisyDogOx



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Generous Liberties Taken With the Metaverse, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Persona 5 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-05 06:30:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20484422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyDogOx/pseuds/DaisyDogOx
Summary: "All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and entrances;And one man in his time plays many parts."Akira Kurusu plays more parts than most, donning a mask for everyone he meets, doing what he must to benefit himself and his cause. Until the day the act breaks and he finds himself lost, and it's up to his friends to save him.





	1. Chapter 1

_“Arsene!”_ he called, tearing off his mask. It came off with far too little resistance and his teammates stared at him as no persona materialized.

The shadow looked at them, as much as it could with its lopsided eyes. He pulled out his gun before anyone could say anything and fired a couple rounds into it.

“Well? Attack it!”

They didn’t need to be told twice and made short work of the creature. Skull was the first to speak after they collected what it had dropped.

“Joker, dude, what _was_ that?”

“A mothman. We’ve run into them before, you know.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it! How come you couldn’t summon Arsene?”

“It’s nothing, we need to just keep moving. If Oracle is right then there are only a few floors left in this area.”

He was glad Mona was busy driving, as he was sure the cat would have a million questions for him later. The rest knew better than to say anything, although Queen also looked as though she was dying to ask something.

Instead she settled on, “Personas have to do with one’s mind and mental state, so it’s not too much of a stretch that a fluctuation could affect your ability to call upon yours.”

“In regular words, please.”

“Akira’s probably just under a lot of stress and it’s making it harder to summon his personas.”

Skull turned back to him, still frowning. “You sure that’s all it is?”

“Why do you think I have the answer? We don’t know anything about these powers even after using them for months! Just because I know what I’m doing in school doesn’t mean I have the answers to absolutely everything!”

Even Oracle was torn from her navigation at his outburst and he was met with six stares, and he could practically feel Mona’s as well.

“Maybe we should stop for today--” Panther started.

“No! We have to reach the end of this area or this’ll all have been for nothing. I refuse to go through these floors again, especially knowing it’s just going to change the next time we come down here. We’re going to the end.”

“_Joker_,” Queen said sharply. “We’ve managed to get by a lot of shadows so far but there’s no way we can avoid all of them, and without you in good enough shape to fight a battle could be dangerous. For both your sake and everyone else’s, we need to pull back.”

“That one just took us by surprise,” he said weakly. “We can keep going, I’ll just fight with my knife…”

“Mona, take us back up to the last waiting area, please. And do your best to stay out of the way of shadows.”

“Don’t worry, Queen. I’m a master of sneaking around.”

The rest of them sat in silence as they started back, the only sounds those of Mona’s engine and Oracle typing away at her computer.

True to the cat’s word, they made it back without being seen by any shadows and Joker jumped out before they’d even stopped.

He took advantage of the weakened distortion and introduced his own: _this isn’t the waiting room, we’re right at the entrance of Mementos_. At one time he’d thought the trick was amazing, but he’d gotten so used to it he walked through before the scenery had settled, the rest scrambling to follow him.

“Akira, wait!”

He didn’t bother looking back to see who had called after him. He just wanted to get back to Leblanc and sleep the day’s events off. Everything was going to be fine tomorrow. It had to be.

* * *

Futaba was surprised to get a text the next morning, and hurried over to Leblanc and up to Akira’s room.

“You said we needed to talk?”

“I want to go to Mementos,” he said simply.

“Why not message the whole chat? Now we’ll have to wait for Ryuji and everyone else to take the trains.”

“No, not with everyone. Just the two of us.”

“Wh-wh-what?!” she spluttered. “You can’t just ambush me with something like that out of the blue! It’s like a surprise mini-boss fight, I haven’t had any time to prepare!”

“Not like that,” he said, frowning. “I don’t want anyone to know I have to practice summoning my persona again, and you seem like the person least likely to tell anyone, plus you can help me navigate.”

“You know this is gonna be, like, Merciless mode without any backup, right? There’s no way you’ll survive!”

“We’ll only go down to the first or second floor. Face off against something weak. I just… I need to be able to do this, and you can help in case things go wrong.”

“Is this really bugging you that much?”

His bangs obscured his eyes but she had a pretty good idea of how he was feeling.

“I’m supposed to be the leader. I’m useless in a fight like this and can’t help you if I can’t fight.”

“I mean, I can’t fight and I still manage to help you guys…”

“Futaba, _please_,” he said. “...I need this.”

“Alright. You wanna go now?”

He grabbed his phone and opened up the Nav.

_“Now beginning navigation to Mementos.”_

* * *

Makoto sighed, leaning against the railing of the accessway. “Let me get this straight: nobody has been able to contact Akira all day, and you’re _sure_ he wasn’t at Leblanc or one of his part time jobs? You know he works at several places, right? I know of the convenience store and the flower shop myself, and I’ve heard about the beef bowl shop and helping that doctor in Yongen.”

“You really think I don’t know where my best friend works?” Ryuji snapped. “Of course we checked all those places!

“Boss hasn’t seen him at all this morning,” Ann added. “He said Futaba went up to his room and they never came down. He thinks they snuck out the window or something.”

“And has anyone tried getting in touch with Futaba?”

“Our messages went through but she won’t reply.”

“Then we all know where they are, don’t we? If Boss hasn’t seen them they probably went to the Metaverse.”

“Why would they do that?”

“He couldn’t summon his persona yesterday,” Yusuke mused. “Perhaps he wanted some extra practice.”

“Without telling us? That’s an effin’ suicide mission!”

“You can’t really be a phantom thief without a persona,” Ann said quietly. “He probably feels upset and it’s only making things worse if what Makoto said yesterday was true, about the mental state and stuff.”

“We should just let him be for now,” the girl agreed. “I’m sure he’ll talk to us if he feels the need. And if not, at least he’s confided in Futaba.”

Morgana jumped up on the railing and idly licked a paw. “Aren’t you guys curious as to _why_ he can’t summon his persona?”

“Of course,” Ryuji muttered, “but he won’t talk to us.”

“Makoto wasn’t too far off when she said it has to do with his mental state. I can only think of one reason why a persona user would suddenly be unable to use their persona, and I’m sure you already know it.”

“You think he has a _palace_?” Ann asked.

Ryuji gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Yeah, right. Akira doesn’t have _any_ desires as far as I can tell, let alone distorted or corrupt ones.”

“Sure, he doesn’t look it but that doesn't mean they don’t exist at all. Just look at the act he puts on at school.”

“This is _crazy_,” Ann said. “Akira doesn’t have a palace and we’re all just getting worked up. He’s probably not even in the Metaverse right now!”

Morgana cocked his head to one side and swiped a paw over his ear. “If you’re so sure, then check out the Nav. If he doesn’t show up, I’ll take everything back.”

They all stared at each other until Haru brought out her phone. “Akira Kurusu.”

_“Candidate found.”_

* * *

Oracle offered him a soda from her bag and he gratefully took it, downing half of it in a few gulps.

“This is what you get for trying a solo a boss that’s got thirty levels on you.” He shot her a look and she raised her hands in submission. “I’m just speaking the truth here.”

“Just because it’s the truth doesn’t mean it’s helpful.”

“Maybe you should stop blindly rushing in and try to figure out the root of the problem. Then you can go for the weakness, so to speak.”

“I spent all of last night going over every angle in my head, and I didn’t come up with anything.”

“Maybe Queen was right and it has to do with stress. But I didn’t think exams were coming up so soon.”

“It’s not exams.”

“But you’re stressed?”

She didn’t get any kind of response and poked his arm.

“Joker, I’m just trying to help.”

“I don’t need any help!” he snapped.

She drew back and tried not to flinch at the look in his eyes. The mask cast shadows on his face that looked almost inhuman and his tone was so different from what she was used to. In that moment he looked more like a shadow than the enemies they’d been facing off against.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I just--”

“You’re under a lot of stress,” she said quietly.

“Oracle, please, I shouldn’t have yelled at you--”

“Let’s just get out of here. I don’t think you’ll make any progress if you haven’t already.”

They walked in silence until they reached the entrance.

“Oracle--,” he tried again.

She disappeared as she returned to the real world and he followed.

His vision shifted until he was back in his room, although he couldn’t see her.

Sojiro appeared at the stairs a minute later.

“Hey, what did you do to Futaba? She looked real shaken. If you tried anything funny I’ll still make good on my threat to throw you out--”

“Where’d she go? I need to apologize.”

“Apologize for what?” he demanded.

He didn’t have the time to deal with Sojiro and all his questions. He pushed past him and was halfway to Futaba’s house when he ran into someone and stumbled back.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry--”

“Akira?”

He finally looked up and realized who he’d bumped into. He tried to say something but the words failed him and he was left with his mouth hanging open.

“Dude, we’ve been looking for you _everywhere_,” Ryuji said. “How come you didn’t tell anyone where you were?”

“I was busy-- Why do I have to tell you what I’m doing all the time in the first place?”

“You don’t, it’s just that you’re always hanging with one of us or working, and none of us could find you today. We got worried.”

“I’m allowed to have a life outside of this, you know. Outside of _you_. It’s not my fault if you’re lost without me, but sometimes I just need a break.”

Ann and Ryuji gave him horrified looks, and he gave a self-affirming nod and walked past them.

_I shouldn’t have said that_, he immediately thought. _I should go back and apologize. It’s not too late._

_Yes, go back to them_, said a voice he didn’t quite recognize. _They’re little more than mindless sheep without you. They aren’t even really friends with each other. They only stick around because of you. You have to guide them or they’ll be lost._

“That’s not true,” he said suddenly, looking around. The voice sounded so familiar but he couldn’t place it. “That’s… not true.”

_You ask for a break but you chose these roles. You know the only way out of this, and instead you choose to add even more masks to your collection. The only way to make all of this stop is to show them the real you--_

“No!” he snapped. A group of boys in Shujin uniforms gave him an odd look and he kept his head down, his heart racing.

_Why do I know this voice? And why am I believing what it says?_

* * *

“Soooo…” Futaba started. “Why are we at my house?”

“Because Boss is busy at the café and we don’t have to worry about him finding us here,” Ann said.

“Alright, fine. But why are we_ all in my room_?”

They all avoided meeting her eyes and she sighed, curling her knees to her chest. “What’s this meeting for? And how come Akira isn’t here?”

“It’s about him, actually,” Makoto said. “As we all know, he’s been unable to summon his persona lately. What you don’t know, Futaba, is that the rest of us met up yesterday and discussed things. We… ended up checking his name in the Nav, and it found something. We don’t think he has a palace or anything!” she said hurriedly. “It’s probably just that we’ll have to face off against him in Mementos. We just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on before we went there and had you navigate for us when we have to change our leader’s heart.”

Ann cleared her throat. “You could’ve stopped awhile back there.”

“...Sorry. Er, Futaba? Any thoughts?”

She looked up from her laptop. “Hmm? Oh, I looked into that myself yesterday after the two of us went to Mementos.”

She blinked a few times. “What?”

“He yelled at me yesterday and it was really unlike him, so I did some digging of my own. It’s more than just a Mementos hit, by the way. It’s a full-blown palace. I’m a little unclear on whether this is something that’s been building for awhile and he’s been able to use his persona nonetheless, or something major happened recently and it sprung up outta nowhere.”

_“What?”_

“I’m still working on the keywords. I’ve got Akira Kurusu and Café Leblanc, but I can’t figure out the distortion. He’s so quiet and reserved most of the time I’ve got nothing to go on, and it’s not like we can just ask him like you guys did for me.”

Yusuke was the first to speak again. “Why can’t we?”

“C’mon Inari--”

“No,” Ann started, “he might have a point.”

“You have an idea?” Makoto asked.

“Maybe… I’ll let you guys know later. I’ve gotta think about it.”

“Are we done then?” came the voice of Futaba. They looked and she had slid off the bed and was laying in a lump on the floor.

“You okay?”

“Brain hurts, spent all last night thinking about this. Can I have my room back now?”

“It would probably be best to go our separate ways for now. We can think about it individually and text if we come up with anything.”

They all seemed to agree and Futaba was left alone again. Her phone buzzed a few minutes later and she dragged herself up to look at it.

[Ann - 2:14 PM: hey what do guys think your palace would be if you had one]

“We’re so screwed,” she said aloud.

* * *

Ann frowned, staring at her phone and nearly walking into a lamppost. Haru gently pulled her out of the way. “He didn’t respond… not even to tell me to stay on task or anything.”

“You can’t have seriously thought that would work,” Futaba muttered.

“Why not?”

“It’s so simple! _Maybe_ you would’ve gotten something out of him if any of you actually offered an answer.”

“Hey, it’s not like you said anything either!” Ryuji said.

“I already _had_ a palace, in case you can’t remember what happened only a few months ago. There’s no point in speculating.”

“Alright, let’s not do this now--” Makoto started.

“What do you even do for the team, exactly? ‘Cause I’m having a hard time coming up with anything. We were doing just fine with Mona as our navigator but then you showed up and everything went to shit because you got involved with all the tech stuff.”

“I do more than you ever will! I’m the reason you’re not getting lost, I’m the reason you actually know what kinds of enemies you’re up against, I’m the reason you’re not _dead_ right now because I guarantee without me shielding and healing you, you wouldn’t have made it through Okumura’s palace--”

_“Shut it!”_

All of them stared at the normally quiet girl.

“We are in _public_, in case you’ve forgotten. Now isn’t the time for this conversation. And Ryuji, would you please stop antagonizing team members, it was hard enough to get Morgana back. I doubt we’d survive without Futaba.”

“Could too,” he grumbled. “Hell, I could lead for a bit.”

“You don’t have to put on the tough guy act in front of us anymore,” Ann teased, “we already know how much you care about the Phantom Thieves and everyone else.”

“It’s not an act--!”

“Act,” Yusuke echoed. “Act… Doesn’t it seem like Akira is putting on an act, some days?”

“Not now, Inari-- wait, what’d you say?”

“Doesn’t it seem like Akira is putting on an act, some days? He behaves so differently with all of us, and then differently again at his various jobs. It’s impressive, in a way.”

She scrambled to pull her phone out of her pocket and opened the Nav. “Akira Kurusu, Café Leblanc, theater.”

_“Input accepted. Searching for route to destination.”_


	2. Chapter 2

All of them had gathered in front of Leblanc, just out of sight of Sojiro inside.

“We know the keywords,” Makoto said. “Are we all ready to infiltrate?”

“This feels wrong,” Haru said quietly. “I haven’t known Akira for nearly as long as the rest of you, but I don’t like the idea of changing his heart.”

“It’s not just you,” Ann added. “...But I think we all understand that it’s necessary all the same. We have to do this if we want our leader back.”

Yusuke was the one to activate the app and the world fell away around them, eventually settling once more.

Nothing could have prepared them for what they faced.

Leblanc was gone, replaced by a grandiose theater covered in flashing lights. A queue lined the outside, and there seemed to be no end to it. And it wasn’t just the café: the backstreets of Yongen were lit up like a carnival with people milling about.

“It reminds me of Madarame’s palace. We couldn’t get in through the front because of all the people waiting to see his work.”

“I don’t remember the cognitions wearing masks,” Skull said nervously. “Do you think they’re… like us?”

“The only people who know about the metaverse are us and Black Mask,” Mona reminded him. “It’s probably just a part of Akira’s cognition, though I don’t know how. We still don’t understand his distortion, let alone how anything in the palace works. We’ll have to be extra careful.”

“For now, let’s just do things as always. Let’s talk to some people and look for a different way in.”

They didn’t get very far before shadows and cognitions alike gave them all kinds of looks.

“How dare you show your face!” one cried.

“Why aren’t you wearing a mask?!”

“You’ll ruin the show!”

It quickly became too much and the thieves made their way to a secluded alley.

“Avoiding shadows is one thing but having to avoid cognitions is another altogether,” Fox said wryly.

“Speaking of shadows, why aren’t we being pursued? Our clothes changed as soon as we arrived and there are definitely shadows here, but they aren’t giving chase. They’re just… watching us like everyone else.”

“I was afraid of this,” Mona admitted. “Persona users shouldn’t be able to have a palace in the first place. Akira knows too much about the metaverse and can use it against us. It’ll be hard to tell if a shadow is hostile or not until it’s too late.”

“We can’t give up,” Panther said firmly. “We’ve only just started exploring, we haven’t even made it inside yet!”

“We can’t just fight every shadow we come across,” Queen argued. “We need some kind of strategy.”

“Isn’t that your job? Then strategize!”

“It’s hard to strategize when there’s no consistency and nothing to go off of!”

They were so busy fighting they didn’t notice people behind them until one of them cleared their throat.

“It would appear some VIPs have gotten themselves lost.”

“Allow us to guide you inside. The show is starting soon.”

They appeared to be twins, dressed in blue. Not only were they missing masks, but they were dressed almost as jailers, as opposed to the elaborate gowns and suits the people in line for the theater wore.

The scariest part was the power radiating from them. It was clear they didn’t want to pick a fight with the two of them.

“Well?” asked the one. “Caroline, if you would assist me here.”

The other--Caroline--pulled a baton from somewhere and tapped it on the brick a few times, sparks flying from it. “Move alone or you’ll be late for the show.”

“Show?” Noir asked.

“All will be made clear soon enough.”

They allowed the girls to guide them, and the rest of the cognitions protested as they were ushered in a door emblazoned with a _V_. As soon as they were inside it disappeared again.

“Pay them no mind, they’ll get in eventually.”

“They yelled at us earlier,” Panther said. “Something about not having any masks?”

“They don’t mean a physical mask, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. All will be made clear soon enough,” she repeated.

“Now hurry up to your seats! I’m sure you can at least do that much on your own?”

They followed the signs up a set of stairs and found a box with seven seats waiting just for them. “I could get used to being a VIP,” Skull said with a laugh, lounging in the nearest chair.

“Don’t relax yet,” Oracle said. “We’re surrounded by shadows and I didn’t like the look of those twins. They weren’t cognitions, but they didn’t look like shadows either. I don’t think they were human…”

He sat up, looking around. “Why can’t we ever just get a straightforward palace, huh? I don’t want to deal with all this otherworldly shit, I just want to fight a monster and take the Treasure and go home.”

The lights dimmed and Fox shushed him.

Then the curtain rose and a familiar face stood center stage.

Akira.

Oracle immediately scanned him and allowed herself to breathe again as she realized it wasn’t actually him. _That must be his Shadow… but why is he in his metaverse outfit?_

“I’m the leader of the Phantom Thieves!” the shadow cried. “And I’m here to steal your hearts! But alas, it cannot be that easy… for a villain emerges!”

The lights above changed and suddenly he was bathed in blue light, and he donned a different mask.

“The Phantom Thieves will never prevail, for justice itself is on my side!”

The audience booed the new character and began to cheer as the lights switched once more and he was Joker.

The scene itself wasn’t very long, but even without scanning him Futaba could see how tired he was. She could barely keep up with the changes but couldn’t seem to look away, even after the curtain closed.

The shadows all leapt to their feet and begged for more. The rest of the thieves looked at each other and seemed to be thinking the same thing: something was very wrong.

_“We ask that you please exit the theater swiftly, as the next show will begin shortly.”_

“That sounds like one of those twins!” Skull said.

“Looks like they run this place and Akira is their star performer.”

“I don’t know much about the theater, but isn’t there usually more than one actor?”

“Yes,” Queen confirmed, “this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. And if my suspicions are correct, this next show will be him performing that again. Over and over, with only a minute’s respite while the crowds are changed.”

“It doesn’t look like his Shadow is the real threat,” Panther said. “Who do you think we’ll have to fight for the Treasure?”

Oracle didn’t want to share what she’d found out about those twins.

“I’ve had enough of the arts for one day,” Skull said. “Let’s get started looking for this Treasure.”

“Actually, I might’ve already found it,” the navigator said. “I did a couple of scans during the performance there, and it seemed like it was onstage.”

“That’s easy enough! Let’s hurry up and grab it!”

“It’s not going to be that simple. Taking the Treasure means alerting every shadow in this place, and if we just run up and grab it we’re gonna have to fight our way back out. I don’t think we’d be able to manage that, even if we had our leader with us. We’ll have to be stealthy about it.”

“Maybe we could find a dressing room and act as though we’re part of the next performance, and steal it when everyone is focused on preparing for the show.”

“Whatever we decide on, it’s not going to happen here. We should start exploring the rest of the palace. There was a Staff Only door that we passed on the way here.”

They all started towards it, only to be stopped by the twins, who appeared out of nowhere.

“Justine, they’re trespassing,” the one whined.

“Indeed, Caroline. You and your friends may be VIPs, but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to go anywhere you want. Should you try to break the rules again, we’ll have no choice but to punish you.”

“Yeah! And take a map, so maybe you won’t get so lost!”

Then they were gone just as quickly, and Skull sighed. “Why is just one easy palace too much to ask for?”

* * *

Akira did his best to put what that strange voice had said aside, but it was hard. Especially as his phone buzzed with messages from all kinds of people asking if he could help them out.

_Munehisa, Chihaya, Toranosuke... or I could help out Sojiro in preparing for tomorrow._

He looked around for Morgana, hoping to ask for his opinion, but the cat was nowhere to be found. “Odd,” he said aloud, “normally I can’t get him away from me…”

He decided to respond to Chihaya, as maybe she’d be able to tell him something about what was happening to him, or at least confirm that he wasn’t going crazy.

_Crazier, anyway_, he thought ruefully. _Not even the others know about the Velvet Room, and clearly something is up with Igor and the twins._

The trains weren’t held up for once and he made it to Shinjuku with time to spare, and quickly spotted Chihaya in her usual spot.

“Akira, you made it! We’re dealing with a new client today, so we’ll see if your abilities can change a fate that’s only been just set into motion.”

“After that, can you do a reading for me?” he asked quietly.

“Do you want help growing closer to someone?” she teased.

He didn’t get to defend himself as the client found them and Chihaya shushed him.

“Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“It’s my boss at work, he…”

Akira stifled a yawn. He’d dealt with similar cases and knew they’d just have to stand up to their boss and prove what they were worth. _Maybe I should’ve stayed at Leblanc, I’m exhausted…_

_You know how to end this._

The voice again. This time it didn’t sound like it was in his head and he looked around frantically.

_Stop playing these ridiculous games and pretending to be someone you’re not. You don’t want any of this._

There, in the crowd! He jumped up from his stool, nearly knocking over the table in the process, and froze as he finally got a good look.

For the person staring back was _him_.

“--kira? Akira!”

Then he blinked and they were gone, and Chihaya looked both concerned and furious, somehow.

“I… I have to go,” he said suddenly.

He tried to block everything else out but could still hear her apologizing to the customer as he ran.

_Was that… some kind of shadow? Is that why I can’t summon my persona? I should tell everyone else about this--_

“And then what? They’ll change your heart?”

He stopped in his tracks and found himself face to face with his Shadow again. He finally got a good look and swallowed thickly as he took in the rings under its eyes and just how thin it looked.

_I’m not that bad, right?_

“Not yet, but if you don’t stop with this act of yours you’ll wind up even worse. But back to the matter at hand, can you really trust them to do things right in changing your heart? They’re lost without you, but you can’t very well enter your own palace. You don’t even have a persona!”

His breath caught and he suddenly felt as though something was pressing down on his chest and he couldn’t breathe. “I… have a palace?”

“You could end all of this on your own. You know how.”

“I… I can’t.”

“No, you just won’t.” It grinned at him. “So instead you’ll let your so-called friends get hurt, all because you can’t bear to take off your masks.”

“That’s not true!”

“You can’t lie to me, I’m _you_.”

The Shadow laughed and disappeared, leaving Akira alone again.

“It’s not true,” he whispered, pulling out his phone with shaky hands. He opened up the Nav and stared at it. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. “Akira Kurusu.”

_“Candidate found.”_

* * *

“According to this brochure, there’s some kind of tour that goes around and shows all the different shows that have been put on here,” Noir read aloud. “We can wait for a guide or are free to wander on our own.”

“Something tells me the _guide_ would be those twins, and I don’t want to deal with them,” Skull said. “Let’s just explore, everything we’ve done so far has been decided by them!”

They were all in agreement and had just reached the hall when the twins appeared again.

“Don’t tell me we can’t even explore this much. I’m so effin’ sick of you telling us what we can and can’t do, we’re just trying to help our friend!”

Justine gave a small laugh. “We’re simply here to wish you good luck on your tour, and to remind you that we’re here to offer any assistance, should you need it.”

“I think we’ll be fine--”

“Just keep in mind that assistance comes at a price!” Caroline said.

Then they were gone again, and Queen sighed. “They like to seem mysterious, don’t they?”

“I didn’t like the sound of that price… let’s not ask them for any favors.”

“Agreed.”

It seemed they could finally explore on their own and Fox led them inside. He stopped short and Oracle walked into him.

“Stupid Inari--!”

They were all silent as they took in the room.

“I knew they’d all be played by him but this is too much,” Panther said quietly.

Posters were plastered on every surface, all of them advertising Akira as the only performer. He wore a different mask in each of them and each Phantom Thief slowly averted their eyes.

Mona was the first to approach one of them and actually read it.

“Akira Kurusu as the Trickster in _The Velvet Room_… Guinea Pig in _Bad Medicine_, Master in _A Teacher Maid to Suffer_, Surrogate Older Brother in _Winner’s Don’t Use Cheats_ and _A Mother’s Aggression_…”

“Stop,” Queen said numbly. “Please, stop…”

“He’s not just performing the same act every time. They’re making him learn new lines and put on full shows by himself.”

“There’s another room,” Fox said, his voice strained.

Panther took Oracle’s hand and gently lead her to the next, and everyone shuffled after them. Not only were the posters older looking, the outfits he wore were all too familiar.

Noir was the one to read them this time. “The Voice of Reason in _The Meaning of Strength_, Workout Buddy in _One Last Chance_, Model in _In Pursuit of Beauty_, Study Partner in _Shinjuku Shenanigans_, Key Item in _The Pharaoh's Tomb_, Gardener in _CEOs and Cafés_…

Oracle had her hands over her ears and was nearly shaking. “Are we just another part to play to him? Does he… really not care?”

Nobody had an answer to that, and Mona stepped forward. “We should keep moving, some of the shadows here are starting to eye us.”

“Akira only has this palace because he feels such strong negative emotions, right?” Panther asked weakly.

“That’s been the pattern so far, yeah.”

“Then… Oracle’s right and he doesn’t actually care, he just puts on an act around each of us. And it just took this long for it to be too much for him.”

“We don’t know that for sure--”

“Take a look around you! He’s_ wearing my mask_ in that poster! I can’t do this, Mona, not if this is how he truly feels. I don’t want to change his heart if I know this is what he actually believes, and we’ll only be making him a different person.”

“Hey, I thought we agreed beforehand that changing his heart was for the best! Clearly he’s suffering if he’s got a palace like this, and--”

“I can’t do this,” she repeated. “And I’m sure the others feel the same.”

Queen ran a hand through her hair and Fox gave an exhausted sigh.

“...Are you really just gonna abandon your friend like that?”

“He’s not our friend! I mean.... I don’t know…”

There was the click of boots on tile and the twins appeared in front of them.

“You’re causing a scene and disturbing the other visitors. We’ll have to ask you to leave, or we’ll be forced to take action ourselves.”

Mona looked at his teammates one last time before nodding. “We were just leaving.”

* * *

He glanced at his phone for the fifth time in the past few minutes and scowled. Nobody in the group chat was answering and he hadn’t seen Morgana since the day before. It was as though they’d all just disappeared. Had they gone to the metaverse without him?

He froze. Had they gone to his palace? They couldn’t have figured out his keywords when he wasn’t even sure of them himself.

“Shadow? We need to talk!”

_There’s no need to shout_, came a familiar voice within his head.

“Show yourself,” Akira demanded.

There was a flash of light and when it subsided the Shadow was sitting on the edge of his bed. It seemed to have gotten even thinner since the last time he saw it and its eyes were sunken. “Keeping a physical form outside the metaverse is exhausting, let’s make this quick.”

“How do I get rid of my palace and get my persona back?”

It grinned at him. “I knew you didn’t trust them. And how could you, when they can’t even work together long enough to save you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh… I assumed you’d be able to tell, since you’re such an _expert_ at using the metaverse and all.”

“Shadow, answer me--”

“If you’re going to talk to me like that, I at least want to be called something other than _Shadow_. There’s millions of shadows out there! Let’s see… you can just call me Akira.”

He tried to stop his hands from shaking. “You can’t use my name.”

It rolled its eyes. “Fine, if you’re going to be picky about it… Ren.”

“_Ren_, then, answer my question. What do you mean they can’t work together?”

Its grin disappeared and it looked at him, practically looking through him. “You really can’t feel it? Pity, I thought the leader of the Phantom Thieves was stronger than that.”

“Where are my friends?”

“You know where they are, you just don’t want to believe it.”

“...You’re wrong.”

“I’ve nothing to gain by lying to you. I don’t want to exist either, but you’re being selfish and your so-called friends are too incompitent to do anything about this. That is, if they still consider you their friend after seeing how you truly feel.”

“Of course they do!”

“Why do you continue to lie to yourself? You can’t hide things from me. I’d be surprised if they even want to change your heart after seeing what you think of them.”

“You _shut up!_” he snapped. “You don’t know anything--!”

“Kid?” Sojiro called from downstairs. “What the hell are you doing up there?”

He whipped around and the shadow was gone, and he cursed under his breath.

“Ren, this isn’t over!”

There was no response.

* * *

Ryuji was the first to check his phone as soon as they were out of the metaverse. “...Shit.”

Morgana tried to get up on his shoulder and look down. “Hey, let me see!”

“These messages are anywhere from a few hours to a few minutes old… He must think we dropped off the face of the earth or something.”

“He must know where we were. If not his palace specifically, he has to know we went to the metaverse without him.”

The cat finally got a look at the screen and grimaced. “That’s gonna be hard to explain when I get back.”

“You don’t have to go back,” came a small voice.

They all whipped around.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Futaba said defensively, “I’m just saying that realistically, any of us could take in Mona if he didn’t really want to go back.”

“Hey, my mom has enough on her plate right now,” Ryuji said. “I can’t risk getting her in trouble with the landlord again because I brought a cat home.”

“My dorm doesn’t allow pets either,” Yusuke added.

“And Sojiro would ask too many questions because he knows Mona, so we’re down to three.”

Ann played with one of her pigtails. “My parents are actually home right now so getting him in and out without being noticed could be a problem.”

“My father is getting stricter about my whereabouts,” Haru admitted. “I don’t think he’d take kindly to me bringing a stray home, even if only for a little while.”

They all turned to Makoto, who sighed. “My sister has been staying overnight lately to work on her current case. Even if she did come home, she’d be too tired to notice anything out of the ordinary. It’s up to Morgana, of course.”

He looked over his shoulder one last time and jumped into her bag. “I’ll be back once we fix things, I promise.”

“We can text each other later and decide how to move forward,” Makoto said. “For now we should get going before we miss the last trains.”

They went their separate ways and Morgana peeked his head out of her bag.

“It’s not too late,” she said.

“...No, it’s better this way. It motivates me to change his heart faster so I can go home.”

“You care for him, don’t you?”

“He took me in when I didn’t have anywhere else to go and couldn’t remember anything more than my name. Now it’s my turn to save him.”

* * *

[Akira - 4:31 PM: we should meet up at the hideout after school]

[Akira - 4:33 PM: have you guys seen morgana lately?]

Ann shoved her phone back in her bag. _I hate avoiding him like this…_

She created a new chat with everyone except Akira.

[Ann - 4:38 PM: I’m sorry about yesterday, it was just a lot to handle at once. I still want to change his heart if everyone else is okay with it]

[Makoto - 4:40 PM: It’s not just you, I think everyone feels that way. we can’t do it today, my sister came home early and Morgana left to make sure I didn’t get in trouble. he said he’d be back tomorrow?]

[Yusuke - 4:41 PM: tomorrow works for me]

The chat was silent after that and Ann found herself too wound up to focus on her homework. She grabbed her coat and started walking, not really sure where she was going.

Eventually she wound up at the train station and sighed. _Even when I’m not trying, I’m being pulled towards him._

* * *

Akira’s phone buzzed and he sat up as he saw a familiar icon.

[Ryuji - 5:13 PM: tomorrow! we meeting in front of leblanc again?]

[Ryuji - 5:14 PM: wait shit]

The message didn’t seem to be meant for him, if the silence afterwards meant anything. _Did they make a new chat without me? It’s like I’m not their leader anymore… but if that’s true, why do I feel even worse?_

What he did know was that they were going to be at the café tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its come to my attention that i have no idea where exactly in the timeline this takes place since haru is there so like. whatever you guys think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i recommend playing [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8GmgeEbxc) once akira confronts his friends for maximum emotional impact

“You _idiot_!” Ann seethed, whacking him over the head with her bag. “I went out of the way to make another chat specifically so he wouldn’t see what we were planning and you went and used the wrong one anyway!”!

“H-Hey, knock it off! It’s a force of habit, I saw the Phantom Thieves icon and clicked it like I always do!”

“It’s true that Ryuji makes a lot of mistakes,” Makoto said, “but he’s not at fault for this one. He’d only recognize it as a new chat if he was part of the conversation while it was happening, and he joined in after we’d all decided. All we can do now is hurry up and go to his palace before he shows up.”

He couldn’t hear what they were saying from up in his room, but it was pretty clear Ann was mad.

_What am I supposed to say to them? They’ve been avoiding me… they don’t even want to talk._

“Now’s your chance to put an end to this ridiculous act of yours,” Ren said, appearing beside him. The shadow had somehow gotten even worse since the last time they’d talked and it leaned heavily against the wall, looking as though it could barely stand.

“I… I can’t.”

“I never knew you were such a coward. You’d rather slowly wither away under the weight of their expectations than tell them the truth.”

He kept silent and watched as Futaba pulled out her phone.

“You won’t get another chance like this. Either do it or continue to suffer, but make your choice.”

“...I have to talk to them.”

He hurried down the stairs, apologizing and brushing off Sojiro’s questions, and nearly ran into all of them.

_“Beginning navigation.”_

“Wait, please--!”

Then his vision changed and he stumbled.

When he could see straight again six familiar masks were staring over him.

“Akira…? Er, Joker?”

They all looked to each other when he didn’t respond.

“_Mona_,” Panther hissed. “What happens if a person enters their own palace?”

“Don’t ask me! Oracle was a strange enough case in that she was her own Treasure, I don’t know what’ll happen if he’s not.”

“He’s not in his metaverse outfit... “

“We should send him back, right?”

They all turned back to find him staring at the theater, eyes wide and looking almost surprised.

“It’s… not a prison,” he murmured.

“Of course it’s not a prison,” Ren said, appearing beside him.

The others all froze.

“His shadow--!”

Akira remembered it had said something about staying outside the metaverse and how it was difficult, so he assumed it would look better once inside. Instead it had only gotten worse again. It practically looked like a corpse, if not for the gleam in its eyes.

“Well? This’ll be your last chance, you know.”

He turned to his friends--he hoped he could still call them that. “I’ve been lying to you all for so long… but I can’t anymore.”

“It’s not your fault. We see that everyone had so many expectations for you and we only added to that--”

“It’s not just that!” he said suddenly, silencing all of them. His bangs hid his face but they could see he was shaking. “I thought that I wanted this… or maybe I did, I don’t know anymore… I _chose_ to keep taking on more roles, even though I was putting on an act almost all hours of the day. I just… I was afraid nobody cared about the real me. You all wanted something out of me and I was all too eager to please.”

“Akira…”

“Ryuji, you were the first person to talk to me but even then it was because you assumed my record meant I was like you. I think that was the moment when my fate was sealed, when we fought Kamoshida. I got a mask for a _reason_. I knew I was hiding my true self, but… I didn’t care.” He finally picked his head up and the familiar light was back in his eyes. “But not anymore. I’m done putting on an act just to please people. I’d like to join the Phantom Thieves again, if you’ll have me. The real me, anyway.”

Fox was the first to break the silence, his head tilted to one side. “I wasn’t aware you’d ever left.”

“Dude, what the hell--”

“Were you that oblivious…?”

“I didn’t mean it literally-- Do you think that little of me? It was a metaphor!”

Akira couldn’t help it, he tried to stifle his laughter to no avail.

“Do you think this means you’ll be able to summon your persona again?” Queen asked.

He looked over at Ren. There was no indication that it was going to transform, the way Futaba’s shadow had.

“Something’s still missing.”

“We never found the Treasure, did we?”

Oracle was busy with her laptop. “Actually, the reading I’m getting is almost unnaturally strong. We’re practically on top of it.”

They all looked to Akira, who took a step back. “I’m not-- I mean, I don’t think I am--”

“_Hey_!” came a familiar voice. “Justine, they’re upsetting our star!”

“Caroline, try to control yourself. We’re in the presence of more than VIPs here.”

“I know that!” the girl cried. “But they’re going to ruin everything! He can’t perform like this!”

“Indeed, and harming our star is certainly against the rules. You were warned that if you did that again you’d be punished.”

“W-Wait a second,” Panther started, “we haven’t done anything to anyone!”

They all looked to the shadow, who appeared to be on the verge of collapsing.

“We can’t put on a show with a star like that. You did this.”

Oracle looked around nervously, scanning the twins. Their power levels seemed to have _increased_ since last time and she was afraid they wouldn’t be able to beat them.

Caroline tapped her baton a few times and Noir flinched.

“That’s enough of that,” Ren said harshly, stumbling between the two groups.

“Don’t-!” Queen said, but the shadow just smirked and turned to the twins.

“You’re not even the real attendants, are you?”

They glared at Ren but didn’t answer.

“I’m done being your puppet. I will _never_ put on another show for you or anyone else again.”

It reached into its coat and pulled something out of the pocket, pressing it into Oracle’s hands. “He seems to trust you, so I guess I can too.”

She looked down and swallowed thickly. “Is this…?”

“The rest is up to you and your friends.”

“Ren, wait!” Akira cried. “What’s going to happen to you?”

The shadow grinned. “I am thou, thou art I…” Suddenly it was enveloped in white light, and when it subsided Arsene stood in its place.

“Justine, what are we supposed to do now?”

“Nothing. They’ve won and the theater will shut down.”

“You can’t just give up like that!”

“Our star is gone and his heart will change soon enough. It’s over. Accept your defeat with dignity.”

The Phantom Thieves all looked at Akira, who was staring at his persona. “Goodbye, Ren.”

Skull frowned. “Think this place’ll collapse like Futaba’s did?”

Just then a tremor shook the ground and everyone froze.

“That answer your question?” Mona asked. “Let’s get out of here!”

_“Now returning to the real world from Akira’s palace.”_

“Hurry _up_!” Panther snapped.

The ground dropped out from under them suddenly and Noir screamed.

When their vision settled they were all in front of Leblanc again, laying in a heap.

Sojiro poked his head out and scowled at them. “I thought I heard a scream... What are you doing on the ground?”

“We… uh… tripped,” Makoto said weakly.

“All of you?”

“Yusuke tripped first and then the rest of us fell over him.”

“I did not--!”

Ann elbowed him and he shut up.

Sojiro muttered something under his breath and went inside. As soon as he was gone Futaba started checking all of her pockets, giving a sigh of relief as she pulled something out.

Akira, on the other hand, was looking around frantically. “Where are my glasses? Did someone step on them?”

The girl handed them to him. “Your shadow… it was your Treasure. It was your mask in the metaverse, but it transformed into your glasses out here.”

He wiped them off and blinked a few times. “I don’t understand.”

Everyone else dragged themselves to their feet. “Those aren’t prescription, are they?” Makoto asked.

“...No,” he admitted. “But I do wear contacts.”

“When did you start wearing glasses over them?”

“When I got sent here. I wanted people to think I looked smart, instead of like a delinquent.” The realization hit him. “My first mask…”

“What are you going to do now?” Haru asked.

“Well, tomorrow I’m going to talk to Mishima. I’m sure he’s got some requests lined up from our hiatus as Phantom Thieves.”

“But… right now?”

He looked down at the glasses before handing them back to Futaba. “I don’t think I’ll need them for awhile. I’m going to see how things go without them.”

Yusuke’s stomach growled. “I understand that the café is still open to customers, but do you think Boss could spare some curry? I haven’t eaten since yesterday…”

Akira grinned, for the first time in what felt like forever. “I think I could make you something if he won’t.”

“Are we making this our party for changing your heart?”

“You didn’t do anything,” he reminded his friend.

“We totally coulda beat those creepy twins and taken your Treasure on our own!”

“Uhh, Ryuji? No we couldn’t. They were scary strong.”

As it turned out, Sojiro was already preparing a few dishes for them as they walked in.

“It’s been too quiet without you around here. Kid’s quiet as a mouse upstairs, I don’t even know when he’s here or not. So… some curry and coffee, on the house.”

“All right!”

They ate and talked for awhile, and eventually Sojiro left to buy some cigarettes. Makoto immediately slid into the booth across from Akira.

“There’s a few things I didn’t understand about your palace.”

“Oh?”

“Your Shadow mentioned that those weren’t the real twins… When you first saw the theater, you said something about a prison, and they were dressed as jailers… And then there was a poster advertising you as some kind of trickster in a play called _The Velvet Room_, with you dressed as a prisoner.”

He rubbed at his neck and laughed nervously. “That’s another story in itself…”

“We’ve got time.”


End file.
